The Exchange Artist: A Tale of High-Flying Speculation and America's First Banking Collapse Book

Jane Kamensky's The Exchange Artist is a lively and refreshing work of 'Early Republic' history. The rich narrative'part monograph and part micro-history'chronicles the life and "schemes" of one Andrew Dexter Jr., who, as the subtitle suggests, rises to unthinkable heights before to collapsing under the weight of his lofty speculations. Not a pure biography'nor a pedantic or scholarly discourse'the Dexter narrative yields vivid glimpses into gender, social, political, and gender history of the United States. As what some are calling 'The Panic of 2008' continues to unfold, the timing of this book's release has serendipitously coincided with the emerging national discussion on the woes of irrational and/or irresponsible speculation. Furthermore, the text is both engaging and masterfully written, making it not only highly relevant, but also an enjoyable reading experience.

For all the linguistic beauty and clarity this narrative offers, the professional historian or graduate student undoubtedly recognizes Kamensky's historiographical shortcomings. Whereas the historian is said to be responsible for both narrative and analyses of subject matter, Kamensky fails to provide the reader with a more thorough historiographical grounding in the subject of early republic finance. Kamensky chooses to omit a historiographical framework which should have highlighted the two-hundred year on-going conversation about such critical issues as pecuniary law, hard/soft currency, the Hamiltonian vs. Jefferson economic ideals, and the role of the First and Second Bank of the United States (and later the 1914 Federal Reserve Act) to name a few. Endnotes aside, she wholly ignores the voices of those whom have come before her. This is problematic in the sense that her subject is not unique to himself. Rather, Andrew Dexter Jr.'s rise and fall'and the subsequent rise and fall of the Exchange Coffee House'are themselves episodes in the forging of the American economy. As such, it is strange to even attempt to understand the significance of one man and one building in this isolated context.

The narrative is unquestionably rich, but the subjective analysis is mediocre at best. In several instances Kamensky strays from her otherwise perfectly economic prose to pursue tangential subjects'such as Gilbert Stuart'where a more in-depth discussion of early republic finance is needed. The climate of Dexter's lifespan'the period of emerging capitalism'is characterized by myriad complexities in policy and practice. While Kamensky addresses the emergence of continental paper, she presents a half-hearted analysis of the Embargo Act of 1807. She also fails to address several critical pecuniary debates that Dexter's experience pertains to: centralized banking, the assumption of states debts, bankruptcy law, and currency standardization. Kamesky's omissions are not problematic in the sense that historians should be required to disclose a full subject or period historiography before proceeding'no such requirement exists, nor should it'but rather because as it stands, this gripping narrative fails to assert itself fully as a result.

These criticisms aside, Kamensky's colorful "tale" still succeeds in providing an illuminating snapshot of the early American economy. While Kamensky does not take to make it quite as obvious, Andrew Dexter Jr.'s journey symbolizes the American transition from a pre-capitalist to capitalist society. Young, intelligent, ambitious, and motivated, Kamensky's Dexter seems to lose himself in the confluence of greed and determination as he exploits a localized, paper-based monetary system. Like capitalism, Dexter is capable of greatness; only the self-interested and self-motivated ethos could allow a man as humble as Dexter to erect the Exchange Coffee House. Yet'as can also occur in capitalism'Dexter's efforts ultimately displace and harm those who participate in his schemes.